If children are to make the most of the educational opportunities available to them, then good behaviour and attendance at school are essential. If children do not attend school punctually and regularly and behave well in the classroom, then they may not be able to keep up with their school work and will miss out on their chances of a good education.
Children who persistently misbehave or fail to attend school regularly are more likely to:
- fall behind in their schoolwork
- become drawn into antisocial or criminal activity
- be at risk of becoming victims of crime or abuse
- leave school with few (if any) qualifications
- have difficulty getting or holding down a job
- experience social and other problems later in life.
Your Role
If you are a parent of, or are responsible for, a child between the ages of 5 and16, the law states that you must ensure that they attend school regularly. Anyone who fails to ensure their child's regular attendance at school is committing an offence, for which legal action may be taken. Prosecution could result in a fine of up to £2,500, a jail sentence of up to three months or a community sentence.
Alternatively, Police Officers, Head Teachers and Education Welfare Officers (also known as Education Social Workers), have the authority to issue penalty notices to parents of between £50 and £100. Failure to pay a penalty notice will result in prosecution.
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| Children only get one chance at school - it is vital that they make the most of it. |
The Local Authority's Role
Local authorities (LAs) are responsible for making sure that parents fulfil their duty of ensuring that their child receives a suitable education; whether this entails their regular attendance at school, or at home. If your child is not attending school regularly, an education welfare officer may visit you. They are there to help you to meet your responsibilities and make sure your child overcomes their attendance problems and receives a proper education.
If you do not do everything you can to cooperate with the education welfare officer and school, the local authority can prosecute you in a magistrates court, resulting in a fine of up to £2,500 and/or a term of imprisonment of up to three months.
Parenting Contracts
Local authorities and schools can make formal agreements (parenting contracts) with parents to address a child's attendance and behaviour at school. This is a two-sided formal agreement between the local authority (or governing body) and the parent. Although the contract is a voluntary arrangement, the local authority may use a parent's refusal to agree to the contract as evidence if (at later date) they have to prosecute the parent for their child's truancy.
The contact is designed to encourage a positive working relationship between the school, local authority and parents, so that truancy or poor behaviour may be dealt with, along with any underlying causes. The parent has to agree to comply with specified requirements, such as making sure that their child attends school regularly and punctually over a specified time period, whilst the local authority agrees to provide support to enable the parent to comply, such as help with transporting child to school.
Avoiding Attendance Problems
One of the most important lessons you can teach your child is the importance of going to school regularly, on time and attending all lessons. It is easier to instil this valuable message if you make sure that your child learns these good habits at an early age when they start primary school.
There may be occasions when a child has to miss school - for example, if they are unwell. Any other absences should be kept to an absolute minimum. Here are some more useful tips to follow:
- If your child starts missing school, work alongside the school to set things right. Make sure your child understands that you do not approve of them missing school.
- If your child has to miss school because of illness, contact the school on the first day they become ill.
- Always follow the arrangements made by the school for reporting any absences.
- If you want your child to miss school for a special occasion such as a wedding, you should ask the school for permission well in advance, giving full details. They are unlikely to agree to absences for frivolous reasons, such as shopping trips.
Arranging Family Holidays
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Wherever possible, parents should avoid taking their children out of school during term-time in order to go on holiday. Your child's school will discourage you from doing this and may not agree to give your child leave. Parents do not have any right or entitlement to expect term-time leave to be granted.
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Taking your child out of school during termtime without authorisation is illegal - you could face a fine of up to £2,500 per child. |
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However, schools can, at their discretion, grant up to 10 days leave each school year, although most will be reluctant to do this if they believe that your child's education will suffer as a result.
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